Supervisor Yu Sen

"Yu Sen."

Granny Fang ignored Qian Yun beside her and immediately called Yu Sen, not caring that she might be disturbing the chairman while he was in the Wilderness Area.

"Beep!"

About fifteen minutes later, the large screen on the wall lit up. A lean man in combat gear appeared amid the ruins, looking puzzled. "Aunt Fang, is something urgent? I'm fighting an Azure Poison Scorpion and only just managed to shake it off."

Granny Fang pointed at Guan Ning and said excitedly, "This is Guan Ning, the young man I just told you about. His movement technique has already reached the Micro-Level..."

Then she fell silent, watching Yu Sen on the screen.

Hearing Granny Fang, Yu Sen, who was usually unflappable, changed expression in surprise. "Aunt Fang, are you sure?"

Granny Fang seemed to think he was questioning her judgment. Slightly displeased, she said, "Why don't you look for yourself?"

Then she instructed him with a sarcastic edge, "Xiao Ning, show our esteemed chairman again."

Only then did Yu Sen realize his words had come out wrong. He hurriedly said, "Aunt Fang..."

"Yes!"

Before he could finish, Guan Ning stepped into the testing machine. Yu Sen could only stop talking and watch carefully.

Guan Ning moved like an agile monkey, dodging back and forth and from side to side, avoiding one rubber bullet after another.

Amid the "hail of bullets," Guan Ning no longer seemed to be taking a test at all. He looked as if he were dancing.

At times, he took long, full-force strides to evade the bullets; at others, he seemed to dance on the edge of a blade.

He controlled his body with exquisite precision, using the tiniest margins to dodge rubber bullets that seemed impossible to avoid.

"Woo!"

The one-minute test soon ended.

"Excellent. That's definitely Micro-Level movement, and he's mastered it very well." The lean man nodded approvingly. Even he was impressed by Guan Ning.

"Well, do you believe me now?" Granny Fang shot Yu Sen a look.

"Aunt Fang, how could I not trust your judgment? I was just a little surprised." Yu Sen hurried to explain. After all, the elderly woman before him had once taught him. "Please don't be angry."

Seeing him plead for mercy, Granny Fang knew he hadn't meant any harm. She waved a hand. "All right, all right. Now that we've confirmed it, you handle things from here."

Yu Sen was silent for a moment, then said, "Guan Ning, in view of your Micro-Level movement technique, I'm adding thirty million to your start-up funds and fifty million to your allowance for purchasing manuals."

Seeing Guan Ning's face flush, Yu Sen smiled. "That means you'll receive fifty million in start-up funds and a hundred million for purchasing manuals. Aunt Fang, prepare a new contract for him."

Then he turned to Qian Yun and smiled. "Suzhou City has produced such a genius. You've played no small part in this, Qian Yun."

Qian Yun couldn't help smiling. "The main credit goes to Guan Ning. He's worked hard."

"Thank you, Supervisor."

Guan Ning knew the money meant little to Yu Sen, one of the four powerhouses of the Limit Dojo, but it was crucial to him right now. He thanked him sincerely.

Looking at Guan Ning on the screen, Yu Sen said with a hint of expectation, "Make good use of your time and train hard. When I get back, if you can satisfy me, you'll receive an enormous benefit."

Granny Fang came over with the contract just in time to hear this. She knew what Yu Sen meant and looked at Guan Ning encouragingly.

Qian Yun seemed thoughtful as well.

"I won't let you down, Supervisor."

Guan Ning knew what benefit Yu Sen meant: either the Basic Training Camp or the Elite Training Camp. The Basic Training Camp was more likely, but even so, Guan Ning was delighted.

It was February 17, 2057. There wasn't much time left before the story began. If he wanted to survive the upheaval to come, the only way was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

After watching Guan Ning sign the contract, Yu Sen smiled. "Once you officially become a martial artist, you'll have martial artist access. Only then will you be eligible to enter the Limit Martial Hall's internal network and purchase manuals. The start-up funds will also be deposited directly into your martial artist account."

He turned to Granny Fang. "Aunt Fang, I still have things to take care of, so I'll leave it here for now. We can talk once I'm back in the Base City."

"All right. Be careful out there." After saying goodbye to Granny Fang, Yu Sen ended the video call.

"Xiao Ning, train hard once you get back. Don't forget what the chairman said."

Granny Fang gave Guan Ning her earnest advice. At this point in her life, seeing promising young people come into their own was her greatest comfort.

"Xiao Ning, be sure to take Aunt Fang's and Supervisor Yu's words to heart. This is a tremendous opportunity," Qian Yun added.

"Granny Fang, Aunt Qian, don't worry. I know what's important."

"Aunt Fang, don't worry. Xiao Ning is a sensible boy, and I'm here to keep an eye on him."

Qian Yun chimed in.

"You! Don't be so careless in the future. If anything like today happens again, you'll see what I do to you." Thinking about what had happened that day, Granny Fang flew into a rage and scolded her sternly.

"I know. I won't let it happen again." Remembering what had happened, Qian Yun was still shaken. Luckily, she'd gone to Aunt Fang. Otherwise, she might not only have missed out on the reward but also been punished.

Looking at Qian Yun's pitiful expression and Guan Ning's excitement, Granny Fang waved them off. "All right, it's done. You two should go. This old woman won't see you out."

"Take care, Aunt Fang."

"Goodbye, Granny Fang."

Guan Ning and Qian Yun had lunch at headquarters. By the time they returned to the Ginkgo Residential District, it was already evening.

"Xiao Ning, you have to seize this opportunity. Don't slack off..."

At the entrance to the residential district, Qian Yun reminded him again and again.

Having lived two lives, Guan Ning was finding it hard to take. "Aunt Qian, don't worry. You know me. Even without Supervisor Yu's reminder, I wouldn't slack off."

"True enough. Then I'll head out."

With that, she vanished in a flash.

After changing into his training clothes, Guan Ning went to the Training Room on the second floor and warmed up a little. Then he took out the simulation sword he usually used to practice swordsmanship: a Qingming Series 2, 98 centimeters long, 5 centimeters wide, with a 75-centimeter blade and weighing 32 kilograms.

Guan Ning swung it a couple of times and frowned. "It really is much lighter. But there's nothing I can do; I'll have to make do with it. I'll get a different one tomorrow."

Though it felt unfamiliar, Guan Ning still practiced his sword techniques meticulously.

What he called swordsmanship was actually just the thirteen basic sword moves: chop, thrust, slash upward, sweep, smash, tap, cut, guard, intercept, twist, lift, parry, and hang.

Having lived through the information explosion of his previous life, Guan Ning naturally understood the importance of fundamentals. Besides, he didn't think much of the sword techniques available online, so he had stuck to practicing the thirteen basic moves.

Thrust, again and again! Chop, again and again! Slash upward, again and again! Tap, again and again!

It was monotonous.

It was exhausting.

But he seemed never to tire. Every day, without fail, he practiced for two hours. He had started at the age of six, and nearly twelve years had passed without a single day off.

He had practiced swordsmanship for two hours, but he wasn't drenched in sweat and exhausted like before. His breathing was merely heavier. Sensing the state of his body, Guan Ning gave a helpless smile. Even if he practiced for several more hours, he wouldn't reach the exhaustion he'd once felt. He could only put down the sword for now and carry it to the basement.

After Guan Ning renovated the villa, the first floor had a kitchen, living room, and bathroom; the second floor had an equipment room, Training Room, and two bedrooms; and the third floor was a terrace. The basement was filled with wooden stakes of varying heights, standing at different distances from one another. At a glance, there seemed to be more than a thousand of them, like a forest. Above the stakes hung countless balls, tightly packed together—more than a thousand in all.

Guan Ning had adapted this setup from the Plum Blossom Stakes in a novel from his previous life to practice his movement technique. In both his previous life and this one, the fundamentals of movement came down to six steps: advancing, walking, leaping, retreating, withdrawing, and turning.

Yet different methods had vastly different techniques. Some made the practitioner move like lightning, while others let them drift like the wind or shift like a ghost. Each footwork method had its own subtleties, leading to different results in actual combat.

The method of training movement was simple. First, one had to use the six basic steps to move across the wooden stakes for a minute without touching any of the suspended balls. It had taken Guan Ning a full six years to accomplish that.

The second step was to set the balls swinging so they collided with one another. To pass, one had to navigate the chaotic Wooden Stake Formation within a minute. Guan Ning had spent five years mastering it, and his movement technique had reached the Micro-Level as a result.

For these eleven years, Guan Ning had practiced swordsmanship for two hours every day, movement for two hours, yoga for one hour, and read the Dao Scripture for one hour. He also had to attend school. Add in the time he spent eating and sleeping, and every one of the twenty-four hours in his day was accounted for.

Only he knew the hardships involved. Outsiders could hardly imagine them. Guan's Father and Guan's Mother had witnessed it all and had tried to talk him out of it more than once, but Guan Ning always stayed silent and carried on as before. They had no choice but to do everything they could to provide him with enough nourishment. Otherwise, how could Guan Ning have become the genius he was today?

But I digress. Back to the point...

Guan Ning went to the Wooden Stake Formation and pushed one of the nearby leather balls. It immediately struck the others. Soon, more than a thousand balls were swinging and colliding with one another, swaying unpredictably.

A gleam flashed in Guan Ning's eyes. He moved swiftly among the thousand wooden stakes, dodging obstacles in a variety of positions while leaving marks on the balls with his Qingming Sword.

This was what he had been working on lately: combining swordsmanship with movement so that he could protect himself in actual combat.

Two hours later, Guan Ning returned to the Training Room on the second floor, looking tired, and did an hour of yoga. Then he went up to the third-floor terrace, settled into position, and practiced Five Hearts Toward Heaven to absorb cosmic energy.

His body was tired, so his cells were like the starving, greedily devouring cosmic energy. His training went even a little faster than the day before.